What is Productivity?
The definition of productivity differs from person to person.
My definition : To complete any task efficiently without getting distracted from the task in the assigned time block.
How do I be Productive Daily?
I am trying my best to be productive, I absolutely love to test different types of productivity apps.
But did I use any of the apps, will I tell it so easily? For that you have to read the complete blog.
The steps that I followed :
1. Stop Over-Thinking & over-Complicating
Stop overcomplicating things unnecessarily.
I did the mistake of overthinking multiple times, you all can see my journey on Twitter.
Using so many tools to manage productivity, will lead you to complicacy and it will lead you to procrastination and you will keep on delaying things one by one.
Instead, just begin your journey !!
2. IDENTIFY YOUR GOALS.
Before starting to get into productivity mode, just plan your daily and weekly goals beforehand.
Now, the question comes: How should we plan them, I am confused, etc..., What can we do Muhammad?
So, here's your answer :
Take a one-day break.
Your body needs rest, from so many things you do on a daily basis and one more problem that this generation faces is lack of attention span.
I faced this, I am not addicted or something like that but Seeing Kunal Kushwaha's DSA series and videos of 4-HOUR span, I am not telling that his series was not fun, they were mind-boggling but I was not able to cope up with them.
In my journey before, when I started learning in public I could see only 15 minutes of his video daily, seeing that I started to get demotivated and left learning in public. Not only that but also left DSA. I just got broke.
Here, is a twist. I broke but never gave up just took a break. As I was going to come back and I came back. Take a break and then come back strong.
Research
Take a pen and paper
Using these two things you can identify your goals more clearly, now you are one step closer, be excited about it.
3. Prepare a To-Do List
Now, after hearing my story and planning your goals, make a daily to-do list.
Don't go for fancy apps and get overwhelmed, I did this mistake As and when you start working on a task create a daily to-do list on pen and paper the last night or in the morning.
Assign them the timings.
Why timings?
4. Track your time, How?
Now, with a to-do list, you need to track the time, and how much time a task took you to complete it.
Example: You gave a small task (1 Hour), but till its completion, it took 2 Hours. So, in the first week, you should do these trials and errors and identify which tasks consume how much of your time.
For people who don't want to use different types of apps, When you start a task, set a timer on your default timer app according to the time assigned to your task.
Then start working on the task, as the alarm rings just conclude your task in about 5 Minutes. Don't delay anymore.
Note the time taken near your task, do it for other tasks, follow up daily, and at the end of the week check which task took how much time. Analyze it and build your routine accordingly.
Edge Case :
If you procrastinated or just imitated to work hard, just write it near your task "Procrastinated" or "P". This is the simple way of just being disciplined about your work.
5. Progress Tracking
As and when you finish your task, start ticking your daily tasks and go to your goal list, and track every week, where you have reached.
Keep on ticking your task lists and your goal list then you will see at the end of 1 Month, now you are very near to your goal.
All the best !!
Productivity is all about discipline
Now, after following all the above directions which I gave if yet you are not able to be productive. Then, you are procrastinating.
WHAT IS PROCRASTINATION?
Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks or actions. It is a common problem that can have a negative impact on productivity and can lead to feelings of stress and guilt. The reasons for procrastination can be varied and can include a lack of motivation, fear of failure, or poor time management skills. credit : chatGPT
(Alert : Nothing else is taken from chatGPT, except this definition)
If you are not true to yourself then reading blogs like these will not take you anywhere.
You are just imitating to work hard.
Stop imitating, we all in our hearts know what is true and what is not true. So just simple formula, "Don't lie to yourself, Just be true to yourself always".
What steps to follow to avoid procrastination?
1. Prioritize your tasks and whom you be with daily.
Doing everything will not help you, you need to prioritize your tasks.
To prioritize your tasks, you can use a priority matrix.
I don't need to explain it, you are smart enough to understand the photo shown.
Now, the question comes, why have you written, keep track of with whom you spend your time?
It is the most important step.
If you are staying with small-minded people or people with bad habits. Chances are there you also will get attracted.
People will argue with my statement above, Why to take risk with your future? My question to them.
If you don't like my advice, be with them. I have not forced anyone.
2. Your brain will shift focus towards interesting things.
This title is 100% true if you make your tasks more complicated and hard to commit to them.
Then why will your brain go towards it?
Don't overcomplicate productivity usually, people set extremely hard deadlines, Which kills their creativity and people get overwhelmed after that, set Realistic and achievable goals.
WHAT TOOLS INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
For Issues, I faced for me personally no tool worked, as everything feels over-complicated but I can tell you some :
Your best friend is your pen and paper
This is the one tool that helped with everything, it helped me visualize things in a very amazing manner.
Pen and Paper deals with, lack of confusion, helps you keep track of your things, and makes your revision easier.
Many apps and tools
You can use many apps, I am not telling you all to not use them. It is my opinion, that nothing worked for me.
You can download many apps, do trials and errors and find out what worked for you.
IMPORTANT TAKEAWAYS
Some important takeaways are :
Stop using hundreds of tools and messing up your life.
Always follow discipline, and don't imitate discipline.
Make the work that you do, easily accessible, so you don't procrastinate.
Keep a check of the people, with whom you spend most of your time.
Make pen and paper your best tool, for productivity, to visualize, and solving any problem.
Follow these bits of advice and paths, given by me for one week. Then come back to my article and comment on whether you improved or not.
I will be happy to hear from you all.